You know those people who take pictures of themselves everyday? Now imagine that, but with a Japanese vending machine.
Since August 5, 2005, Japanese site I take a picture of the vending machine every day (or so). I’m very sorry. has uploaded well over two thousand photos of the same Coca-Cola vending machine. Photos go up nearly everyday, but some days the guy who runs the site (he goes by "Motomachi" online), takes a break or goes on vacation.
Vending machines are seemingly everywhere in Japan, and the country has an array of them. Yet, Motomachi also claims he has "no interest in the vending machine itself or its contents." The reason why he started this blog was he wanted to do something he could update daily, but that doesn't take up more than five minutes of his time.
Each day, the vending machine does change, whether that's the weather or the time of day, the drinks, the advertisements, or even the vending machine's tech. For example, in 2008, this vending machine wouldn't take digital payments; however, starting sometime in 2009, it would. From that point, you can see an e-money reader on the machine.
However, each post has a dated image of the vending machine and is typically titled "変化なし" (henka nashi) or "no change". On the site, you can see the same machine in several photos taken on the same day in the past and compare.
The reason "no change" is the default is because noticing changes eats up Motomachi's time, he says, which ticks him off. Thus, Motomachi rarely titles his posts "プチ変化" (puchi henka) or "slight change". But when does, watch out, because he'll catalog things like drink changes and placement. Sometimes, he'll note sticker changes, too.
It really falls on the reader to notice all the little changes! And those small changes seem even bigger. Have a look:
And here is the site's Flicker page:
I take a picture of the vending machine every day (or so). I'm very sorry. feels like a brilliant running gag. There's no need to be sorry. Carry on, Motomachi, carry on.
私は毎日（のように）自動販売機の写真を撮っています。こめんなさい。 [Official Site]
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